Device for adjusting in height the fabric presser in multineedle quilting machines

ABSTRACT

There is provided a device for adjusting simultaneously, on all the supporting bars, the initial height of the fabric presser in a multineedle quilting machine. On the needle-controlling bar a cam is fixed constantly in engagement with a roll mounted on one end of a lever pivoting on a clamping means which is made integral with the fabric presser rod. All the fabric presser rods are connected by a connecting rod passing through said clamping means and having a cam fixed thereto for each clamping means, said cam being always in engagement with the other end of said lever pivoting on the same clamping means. By causing the connecting suitably unfastened rod to rotate within all the clamping means, the simultaneous adjustment of all the presser rods is obtained.

United States Patent [72] Inventor Giannino Landoni Via Verdi 133, Cassano Magnago, Italy [21] Appl. No. 6,347 [22] Filed Jan. 28, 1970 [45] Patented Jan. 11, 1972 [32] Priority Feb. 8, 1969 [33] Italy [31] 12633 A/69 [54] DEVICE FOR ADJUSTING IN HEIGHT THE FABRIC PRESSER IN MULTINEEDLE QUILTING MACHINE}; 4 Claims, 3 Drawing Figs. [52] U.S.Cl 112/117, 74 /55, 112/239 [51 Int. Cl D05b 1 00, DOSb 29/00 [50] Field of Search.. ..112/235 240, 79,117-119;74/567-569, 55 [5 6] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,948,876 2/1934 Boettcher 112/117 Primary Examiner-Jordan Franklin Assistant Examiner-Geo. V. Larkin Artorney- Browdy and Neimark ABSTRACT: There is provided a device for adjusting simultaneously, on all the supporting bars, the initial height of the fabric presser in a multineedle quilting machine. On the needle-controlling bar a cam is fixed constantly in engagement with a roll mounted on one end ofa lever pivoting on a clamping means which is made integral with the fabric presser rod. All the fabric presser rods are connected by a connecting rod passing through said clamping means and having a cam fixed thereto for each clamping means, said cam being always in engagement with the other end of said lever pivoting on the same clamping means. By causing the connecting suitably unfastened rod to rotate within all the clamping means, the simultaneous adjustment of all the presser rods is obtained.

V mammal] DEVICE FOR ADJUSTING IN HEIGHT THE FABRIC PRESSER IN MUL'IINEEDLE QUILTING MACHINES BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a device for adjusting simultaneously on all the supporting bars, the initial height of the fabric presser (or fabric holder) in a multineedle quilting machine.

It is known that in these machines, the material to be quilted must not be subjected to uneven pressures which would involve an undesired waviness f the stitchings and other drawbacks. This problem, which is made more critical owing to the length of the fabric presser facilitating and enhancing the deformations, is presently solved in conventional quilting machines by adjusting each supporting bar manually. Until now, indeed, operations had to be conducted so as to loosen the securing clump of each fabric-pressing rod and then raise or lower all the clamps uniformly in order for the height of the fabric presser to be the same at a given moment for all the supporting bars. This operation is required to very accurately adjust the shift of the various clamps, even with the use of a gauge, consequently involving a notable loss of time. Considering that the usual multineedle quilting machines are generally provided with six or more supporting bars, each of which holding l0 needles, it can be readily understood that the type of adjustment described hereinabove, which has to be repeated whenever the quality and thickness of the material to be quilted varies, results in a considerable increase in production costs.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A device has now been designed, and is the object of the present invention, which enables one to adjust the height of the fabric holder by operating only one adjusting element for a whole row of supports. Said device can be easily applied to any kind of quilting machine provided with a fabric presser. In this way, the uniform adjustment of the height of the fabric presser is much more accurate than that which can be obtained by adjusting each clamp separately, even supposing that the latter operation is carried out most carefully and that precision instruments are used. Furthermore, much time is saved, which involves a substantial reduction in production costs.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Further advantages and characteristics of the device according to the present invention will be evident from the following description, with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

H0. 1 is a partial perspective view of a quilting machine provided with a device for adjusting the height of the fabric presser according to the present invention;

H0. 2 is an enlarged schematic perspective view of the device according to the present invention; and

FIG. 3 is a schematic view of three different positions of the adjusting device and, consequently, of the fabric-pressing rod.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT With reference to FIG. 1, the drawing shows one of the shoulders I of the quilting machine, between which is a set of bearings 3a and 3b supported by specific spacers 2. In the figure, the bearing 3a is a guide for tube 8, wherein the rod 9 is slidably housed. The tubes 8 of the machine control the needle-holding bars 16 anchored to the supports 10, while the internally sliding rods 9 operate the fabric holders 11.

Corresponding to each support 3a, a crank 5 is fixed on the needle-controlling shaft 4 and, by means ofa connecting rod 6 and a clamp 7 drives the corresponding tube 8, so as to impart to the same, during the oscillation of the shaft 4, a reciprocating rectilinear movement. Moreover, on the needle-controlling shaft 4, there is also mounted a similar means for imparting also to the rod 9 of the fabric presser a reciprocating movement resulting in a preestablished relation of phase with the movement of the needle-holding bars.

In conventional quilting machines, said means to convert the oscillating movement of the shaft 4 into a reciprocating rectilinear movement of the rod 9 could consist of another connecting rod-crank link similar to the one shown at 5 and 6, both both of which however directly operate upon an element which is integral with the rod 9. On the contrary, in the quilting machine provided with the device according to the present invention, the movement is transmitted to a lever system, the fulcrum of which is situated in clamp 13.

In the embodiment here described as an example, as is more apparent in FIG. 2, the cam 12, fixed on the needle-com trolling bar 4, is engaged by a small roller 17 mounted on one end of a lever 14 fulcrumed in B on the clamp 13, which is made integral with rod 9. The assembly including rod 9, clamp 13, lever 14 and roller 17 is urged downwardly by gravity and is constantly in engagement with cam 12 on bar 4 because the assembly is entirely supported by the cam 12. However, suitable spring means, not shown, may be supplied to constantly urge the assembly into engagement with the cam 12. Thus, the entire assembly oscillates upon being driven by the bar 4 and cam 12. The other end of the lever 14 always engages another cam 15 fixed on a horizontal rod 18 which passes through suitable holes provided in all of the clamps 13 of the quilting machine, which clamps, as already, stated normally number six or more. The rod 18 and cams 15 are held in a fixed rotational position with respect to the clamp 13 by screws A which are adjustable to loosen or secure the rod 18 to the clamp 13. It may be sometimes necessary to modify the initial height of the fabric presser, i.e., taken in correspondence with a fixed reference point such as the top or bottom dead center. In machines which are not equipped with the device according to the present invention, such adjustment of the height has to be performed by loosening the securing screws of all clamps, and then raising or lowering the clamps along the rods of the fabric presser, and fastening them finally in their new positions, through a series of operations requiring the maximum of care and accuracy from operators and to be repeated for each of the six or more supports.

On the contrary, by adopting the device according to the present invention it is not necessary to move the clamps 13 along the rod 9. It is sufiicient to loosen only the screws A enough to enable the shaft 18 to perform a short hand-controlled rotation, by operating the small lever C. In fact, by causing the shaft 18 and consequently the cams 15 to rotate, the latter cause the lever 14 to rotate around the fulcrum B, thus originating a corresponding shift of the roller 17 in the vertical plane. Since however said small roller is always engaging the cam 12 integral with the shaft 4 which is at rest during this operation, a reaction is originated which tends to displace either upwards or downwards the entire clamp 13 and, consequently, the rod 9.

It is practically as if the first-class lever 14 were converted into a second-class lever having its fulcrum coinciding with the contact line between the roller 17 and the cam 12. The action of the adjusting device appears more clearly in the three schematic drawings of FIG. 3.

HO. 3a schematically represents a fabric-pressing rod provided with its adjusting device, in a minimum height position. In FIG. 3b, the shaft 18 has been caused to rotate by onefourth of a revolution so that the eccentric 15 causes the end of the lever 14, with which it is in contact, to rise. As a consequence, the lever 14 would tend to pivot around the fulcrum B and should be lowered at its other end on which the small roller 17 is mounted. Since however the small roller 17 is in contact with the cam 12 of the shaft 4 which is at rest during the whole adjustment operation, it cannot be lowered and the lever therefore must rotate in the vertical plane around the only fixed axis of the system consisting of the contact line between the roller 17 and the cam 12. In fact, through the pivot B, which so far has been called fulcrum, the clamp 13 receives the reactions causing the upward movement of the clamp and of the rod 9 which freely slides within the tube 8 (not shown in this figure).

By causing the shaft 18 to rotate for another fourth of a revolution, the shaft 4, still remaining at rest, according to what has been already explained in relation to FIG. 3b, the initial maximum height position for the fabric pressing bar is obtained, as illustrated in F I0. 30.

It should also be kept in mind that each of the three positions of rod 9 illustrated in F IG. 3, occurs simultaneously for all the rods 9 of the fabric presser of the quilting machine. This means that by operating manually a single controlling lever C, the desired rotation of all cams 15, the same shift of all levers 14 and, consequently, the required adjustment of the height of all the rods 9 is obtained. Three different positions of the fabric presser 11 are also indicated in FIG. 1. The continuous line drawing of the fabric presser shows the maximum height obtainable at the bottom dead center by the above adjustment; the dashed-line drawing 11b represents the minimum height obtainable, still at the bottom dead center. n the contrary the dashed-line drawing 11b represents the fabricpresscr in the top dead center position, in the case of minimum height, so that the distance 1la11b is equal to the stroke of the fabric-pressing rod 9.

Of course, the embodiment of the device according to the present invention, which has been herein described and illustrated, has been reported only by way of example and does not involve any limitation of said invention. Additions and/or modifications may be contributed to said embodiment by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope defined by the appended claims. In particular, any other equivalent means for controlling the shift of lever 14 may be employed instead of the cam 15 and the clamp 13.

What I claim is:

1. In a multineedle quilting machine, a device for simultaneously adjusting, by means of one single controlling unit, the initial height of all fabric-pressing rods of said machine, comprising:

a shaft connecting all the fabric-pressing rods of the machine; clamping means integral with each of the fabric-pressing rods for clamping said shaft to the fabric-pressing rods; a lever attached at the fulcrum thereof to each of said clamping means; a roller rotatably connected to one end of each of said levers; pivoting means connected to said shaft adjacent to each of said levers for pivoting said levers from the end thereof opposite that having said rollers, upon rotation of said shaft;

drive means engaging each of said rollers fabric-pressing rods; and

spring means attached to each of said clamping means for urging each of said clamping means into engagement with said drive means;

such that rotation of said shaft causes rotation of said levers and consequently elevation and depression of the initial height of all of the fabric-pressing rods.

2. A device for use in a multineedle quilting machine as described in claim 1 wherein said pivoting means comprises cams integrally connected to said shaft.

3. A device for use in a multineedle quilting machine as described in claim 2, further including:

a single controlling lever attached to said shaft for manual rotation of said shaft.

4. A device for use in a multineedle quilting machine as described in claim 1, wherein each of said clamping means includes an adjustable screw for securing and loosening said shaft.

for oscillating the 

1. In a multineedle quilting machine, a device for simultaneously adjusting, by means of one single controlling unit, the initial height of all fabric-pressing rods of said machine, comprising: a shaft connecting all the fabric-pressing rods of the machine; clamping means integral with each of the fabric-pressing rods for clamping said shaft to the fabric-pressing rods; a lever attached at the fulcrum thereof to each of said clamping means; a roller rotatably connected to one end of each of said levers; pivoting means connected to said shaft adjacent to each of said levers for pivoting Said levers from the end thereof opposite that having said rollers, upon rotation of said shaft; drive means engaging each of said rollers for oscillating the fabric-pressing rods; and spring means attached to each of said clamping means for urging each of said clamping means into engagement with said drive means; such that rotation of said shaft causes rotation of said levers and consequently elevation and depression of the initial height of all of the fabric-pressing rods.
 2. A device for use in a multineedle quilting machine as described in claim 1 wherein said pivoting means comprises cams integrally connected to said shaft.
 3. A device for use in a multineedle quilting machine as described in claim 2, further including: a single controlling lever attached to said shaft for manual rotation of said shaft.
 4. A device for use in a multineedle quilting machine as described in claim 1, wherein each of said clamping means includes an adjustable screw for securing and loosening said shaft. 